Close-up of shoulder on a jacket by Sartoria Davi. Photo credit: Juhn Maing

Last week we hosted Claudio Italiano and had a very productive trip to New York and San Francisco. We're pleased to announce that we will be hosting a new visiting tailor in a couple of weeks: Guido Davi (@sartoriadavi).

Guido will visit New York on May 8-10. Unlike most visiting tailors, Guido and I are experimenting with doing 2 complete fittings in a single visit. We are trying this with one client and hope to offer this to more clients in the future.

Nearly all visiting bespoke tailors limit themselves to a single fitting with each client (1 fitting per trip). For new clients, this typically necessitates at least 2 separate trips to prepare a jacket for delivery. The entire process can take up to a year. In contrast, our approach will greatly speed up delivery without compromising the bespoke process.

Guido and his brother run a workshop started by their late father more than half a century ago. The more I learn about how they work, the more impressed I am with their attention to detail and uncompromising approach to tailoring. Guido cuts a clean, soft jacket that he shapes in subtle ways for each individual customer.

His clientele is among the most international of any Sicilian tailor, which is a key advantage in my book. Moreover, his English fluency and tailoring skills make him the obvious choice for the most direct, undiluted experience of Sicilian tailoring available in the US.

By appointment only.

Last but not least, we’re also working on offering bespoke shirts in collaboration with a Sicilian shirtmaker.

For more info, feel free to check out my blog entries on Guido. Additional updates to appear on this newsletter as well as the Sicilian Reserve and Sleevehead websites.

We're excited to announce the latest iteration of Sicilian Reserve as a platform to help connect Sicilian artisans to new customers. Our primary role will be partnering with tailors and artisans on their visits and trunk shows.

To kick things off, I will be working with Sartoria Italiano (@sartoriaitaliano) for a spring 2019 visit to the US. Claudio and his father run one of the leading tailoring houses in Palermo. I really like his trim, modern take on the Palermo-style jacket. Claudio is impressively versatile and can shape jackets with a more classic silhouette.

But he loves creating smart, superbly modern jackets that could easily be worn on the red carpet and eclipse anything I've seen on the award shows. Excellent choice for those who enjoy color and texture realized in an elegantly shaped jacket.

Dates: April 8-9 in New York City. April 10 in San Francisco. By appointment only.

Beginning in 2019, Sicilian Reserve will become more of a platform to help connect Sicilian artisans to overseas customers. Our primary role will be assisting tailors and artisans to organize their visits and trunk shows.

This has one main advantage - you can express interest in having a Sicilian tailor or artisan visit your city. Artisans will be able to gauge interest in cities around the world and respond by organizing a trunk show/visit if demand warrants. To make your voice known, join the Sleevehead Forum and show your interest on the tailor's dedicated topic page.

Artisans participating with Sicilian Reserve will most likely have been profiled already in my book Sleevehead’s Guide to Sicilian Tailors (SGST) but this is not a requirement. If you know a tailor not covered in SGST or my blog, feel free to start a discussion topic in the Sleevehead Forum.

To kick things off, I have already selected two well-known Palermitan tailors for a spring 2019 visit to the US and am currently finalizing details with them. An official announcement is coming soon.

It’s been quite a journey since launching Sicilian Reserve a year and a half ago. I am grateful to the launch customers who decided to join us in that journey.

Based on my learnings, Sicilian Reserve will change as we go into the new year. Instead of working exclusively with one tailor, SR will act as launch service to a limited number of Sicilian tailors ready to enter the US market at higher price points.

Last week I visited Sicily to speak with tailors who are interested in this opportunity. My current plan is to help at least one new Sicilian tailor to launch in the US in 2019 with possibly more to follow.

Looking forward to sharing more in the new year here and on my Sleevehead blog.

We enjoyed seeing old and new customers earlier this month in San Francisco and New York. We managed to meet almost everyone who scheduled an appointment. I’m also meeting individually with a few folks who could not make their times due to last minute conflicts.

For 2019, we’re working on bringing to market another Sicilian tailoring option. This should be even closer to the actual experience of flying to Sicily to get your bespoke commissions done. Stay tuned!